The Convenient Comforter
by reen212000
Summary: Rodney McKay. Comforter, of sorts. Spoilers for The Last Man and Search and Rescue. Written for the comfort challenge at sga flashfic on LJ.


A week and a half after the building came down around their ears, Rodney found himself in the infirmary. Again. If he were honest with himself, Rodney would say it was to check up on his friends. But today, it was all about Teyla. And Torren.

"Rodney! It is good to see you!" Teyla exclaimed, though Rodney couldn't exactly figure out why. She thrust her son into his arms, wriggling off the bed. "I will return in a moment."

Oh. That's why. "I did not sign on as baby sitter, you know! Hurry back!"

The baby shifted in his arms, and suddenly Rodney's attention was back. "Hey, hey. Don't go anywhere. She'll be back in a minute, promise." He let the tiny boy wrap a hand around his finger, marveling at how strong Torren was being only a few days old.

"How's he doin'?" A voice asked weakly from the next bed. John Sheppard was finally awake.

"He's great. Wanna see him?" Rodney slowly made his way to the colonel's bed, terrified he would trip or drop Torren. By the time he arrived at bedside, John's eyes had already closed. "That's just... terrific."

"Give 'im a break, Doc." Major Lorne scooted around in the next bed, folding his magazine away. "He's had a rough coupla weeks."

"I know, I know." Rodney shuffled back to Teyla's bed, rocking his precious bundle a bit. He looked down to find Torren's eyes open. "Hi there, little guy," he said softly.

The big dark eyes blinked, and Torren's mother appeared. "Thank you, Rodney." Teyla had changed into maroon scrubs and even brushed her hair. "I am quite excited to leave today. Kanaan will be waiting for us at the settlement."

Rodney's brows scrambled upwards. "Is he okay now? What happened?"

Teyla smiled widely. "He is just fine. In a few more weeks, he will be back to his old self." Her smile faltered a bit; Rodney wondered if she was thinking about the past events. "I'm sure once we arrive, he will feel much better."

"Yeah, you're right." Rodney wondered if she believed his optimism. Not that he gave into it often, but he did wish the best for the new family. He frowned in John's direction.

The Athosian didn't need Torren's concern to tell her what her friend was thinking. "He will be fine, Rodney. But Jennifer stated he would need much rest."

Rodney shook himself, as if clearing away the negative thoughts. "So will Kanaan. Are you gonna divide your time between here and there?"

"Yes. Kanaan is a little uncomfortable here, but he will follow his family." She frowned again; this time Torren wiggled in Rodney's arms as if prompting him to do something.

He gazed down at the squirming bundle, only to be met with rather serious eyes. _God, you're just like your mother. Fine._ "I'm sure you'll figure something out. It's kind of early to, you know, make big plans."

Teyla smiled sadly. "Yes, I know. This... It is..." She was at a loss for words to describe everything.

"It's not the way you planned for your son to come into the world, right?" Rodney gave a crooked smile as he handed Torren off to his mother. "Cheer up! You don't have a hole in your side, or a leg broken in two places."

"Watch it, McKay," Lorne warned from across the room.

Teyla finally chuckled. "I must leave you. There is much to do, and I am starving." Tucking the baby under her chin, she gazed at Rodney once more. "Thank you, Rodney." With one hand, she awkwardly pulled his head to hers, and left the infirmary.

"Nice work, Doc. You know, I've been feeling a little apprehensive about my leg. Any words of advice?"

Rodney glanced up at the major, who had obviously spent too much time with Sheppard. The lopsided smirk was unbearable. "Oh, please. As long as you can still blow something up, I'm sure you'll be fine."

The smirk became a grin. "I knew you cared, Doc." Lorne stretched to reach his cup for water.

"Oh, for God's sake." Rodney poured water from the pitcher, refreshing the water already in the cup. He watched the major take a few sips, then took the cup from him. Fishing around in his pocket, Rodney tossed a device on Lorne's lap. "I brought it for him, but since he's not..."

The major switched the Nintendo DS on, checking out the games. "Thanks, McKay! I promise not to mess up his Tetris scores."

"I seriously doubt you're even at his level," Rodney said absently. He glanced over at the sleeping man again. "I'll see you later."

"Later, Doc. I'll tell him you stopped by."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Doctor McKay to the infirmary. ASAP!"

Rodney sat bolt upright in bed fumbling for his headset. The clock blearily pronounced four-twenty-six. He hadn't gotten nearly as much sleep as he wanted; every time he closed his eyes he saw the ceiling falling. "This is McKay. What's going on?"

"Sorry to wake you, Rodney, but we're having some trouble with Colonel Sheppard."

"Why is that my problem? Give him a sedative."

The doctor huffed on the other end. "That's the problem. He's having a bad nightmare, and he won't wake up."

Rodney was already halfway to the door when he checked for shoes. He found his slippers in the dark, and made his way to the infirmary.

When he arrived, there was nothing but chaos. Rodney was stunned by the scene before him. Three people were holding down Sheppard while Keller tapped his face. Everyone was yelling the colonel's name, and no one seemed to be getting through.

"McKay! Get over here!"

Jolted into action, Rodney moved closer. The nurses made a hole for him to slide into, but he wasn't sure what needed to be done. He was just a scientist, after all.

'You're not just a scientist, Rodney," Jennifer said quietly. "You're his friend. Do what you can."

Nodding, McKay put his hand over John's heart. He could feel it hammering away as the colonel struggled. The amount of heat rolling off John was unbearable. "Colonel?" He said feebly, not sure how good a grip the nurses had on the patient. Rodney had seen too many people, including himself, wander away with a black eye trying to wake the colonel. "You need to wake up."

The struggling body stilled for a moment, but kept moving.

"John! Wake up!"

This time his voice broke through the fog. Sheppard's eyes fluttered open, but closed immediately. He slowly stopped struggling against everyone, occasionally jerking to get away from all the hands.

"Keep talkin', Rodney," Jennifer prodded.

Rolling his eyes, Rodney continued. "Do you even realize what time it is? Apparently, you're not listening to anyone around here, so they had to drag me out of bed, and you know how I feel when I haven't had my coffee." He tapped Sheppard's chest with his hand.

"R'ney?"

He barely heard the voice from below. "Yes, it's me, and you better wake up before you end up in some psych ward on Earth."

"Not cr'zy."

"Well, you better prove it quick. Keller's got the needles out."

Sheppard's eyes opened slowly, and he stilled on the bed. "R'ney? Yer not old anym're. Did it work?"

Rodney stopped for a minute, thinking about what his friend said. "Yes, it worked. And we got Teyla."

"We've got to get him cooled down," the doctor whispered. She nodded at her staff to back away from their patient. "Let's get started. Rodney, I'm going to need you to keep him calm."

"Why are you talking like he's not here?" He turned his irritated gaze to Sheppard. "Are you okay now?"

John took a deep breath, closing his eyes. They snapped back open. "Lorne? Ronon?" He weakly lifted his head to see around the people surrounding his bed.

Keller moved back to reveal Major Lorne. "Hey, sir. You're making quite the racket over there."

"S'rry. Where's Ronon?"

"He's fine, left the infirmary a few days ago." Rodney leaned closer to the man below. "Are you sure you're in there somewhere?"

John closed his eyes again, trying to remember. "Michael? Hive ship?" He opened them again, with a faltering smile. "You delivered a baby."

"Um, yeah. Right."

"Torren John." John chuckled, then sharpened his gaze. "Are you okay?"

Rodney smiled. "Yes, yes, Colonel. Everyone is fine. Could you stop scaring the medical staff now?"

John's eyes crossed, and his head lolled on the pillow. He was asleep again.

"Sorry, Rodney. I think he's done for now. This fever is going to take a lot out of him for the next few days." Keller checked the surgery site at Sheppard's side. "He's fighting an infection; his body is so worn out from everything he's been through."

"I got that. Not to mention the whole forty-eight thousand years, dehydration, buildings falling, having rebar shoved through his body, a fool hardy rescue, more explosions, and flying an alien ship while holding a baby."

Keller bit her lip. "Like I said, he's been through a lot. Dehydration is still a problem right now." She reached out to touch his arm. "I'll take good care of him."

Rodney nodded solemnly. "I know you will." He scrubbed a hand over his face. "The next time he has a nightmare, wake up Ronon."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

The next day, Keller returned to her favorite patient. She found him sitting upright, gazing around him. Feverish eyes regarded her warily as she stood next to his bed. "Colonel? Is something wrong?"

Sheppard flinched away from her, avoiding her touch. "What have you done with Rodney?"

"I'm sorry?" This couldn't be good. "Colonel. John. You're very sick right now–"

"Where's Rodney? I heard his voice. Where are you keeping him?"

"Hey, sir?" Lorne twisted in his bed. "Rodney'll be down in a minute." He distracted the colonel so that Keller could call for the scientist.

John seemed unconvinced. He raised his hand at the wall behind Keller. A HUD popped up, showing a moving lifesign. John smiled, and leaned back against the pillows. "He's okay. He's coming." The colonel drifted off to sleep again.

"Man, I hate it when he does that," Lorne said, taking a deep breath.

"Does what?" Rodney McKay entered with a giant mug of coffee and a pastry.

Jennifer's eyes were round with surprise. "There was a HUD on that wall. I've never seen one there, much less have a delirious patient pull one up out of nowhere." She moved back to her patient to take his vitals. "I've never seen him interact with Atlantis, I guess."

"Boy, are you in for a surprise." Rodney reached over and patted John on the shoulder. When the colonel opened his eyes, Rodney leaned closer. "What did I tell you about scaring the medical personnel?"

"McK'y? T'red. Sleep?" Then he was gone again.

"What's the verdict?" Lorne retrieved his handheld game, trying not to look too closely at his CO.

Jennifer tapped her digital chart. "Fever's still there, not as bad as earlier. Hopefully, it'll break by this afternoon." She eyed Rodney suspiciously. "Is he going to do anything else? I mean, I can't have things appearing out of nowhere all the time."

McKay shook his head. "I'll be here for a little while, and try to keep it to a minimum."

The doctor nodded, pulling up a chair. "What else has he done?"

"You sure you want to know about that, Doc?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sheppard woke to a familiar sound – McKay torturing his laptop. The colonel was hot and grimy, and wanted a shower desperately. Constant clacking lulled him in to a fugue, making his body heavy. Maybe he would sleep just a little longer.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

The End.


End file.
